The top two technology services companies in India, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Infosys, announced a combined staff reduction of over 35,000 during the third quarter.

Compared to the same time last year, it was reported that there was muted customer demand that doesn't warrant the creation of new positions in the nation's most internationally recognized and lucrative forex industry just yet.

The market leader TCS saw a 10,669 reduction in headcount, while Infosys saw a 24,182 decrease.

The total decline across the sequence was almost 11,781. This comes after the two firms' sequential headcount dropped by 13,863 in the previous quarter. The companies released their third quarter financial results and kept a cautious stance on the macro climate.

According to TCS Chief HR Officer Milind Lakkad, 70 percent of employees will receive 100 percent variable compensation, with the remaining 30 percent receiving variable pay contingent on performance. The company started making campus visits to welcome freshmen in FY25. Regarding forced moves, Lakkad stated that "mobility" is a necessity for employment at TCS.

The Maharashtra Ministry of Labour and Employment had sent a notice to the business earlier this month to clarify its position over an allegation of "unethical transfer practices" by TCS filed by the Pune-based IT workers' union, NITES (Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate). It asserted to have received 180 complaints on the forcible termination of more than 2,000 workers without cause or consent.

According to reports, Infosys also wrote a letter to Cognizant to stop the latter from stealing its employees. After becoming the CEO of Cognizant in January, reports state that former Infosys president Ravi Kumar hired about 20 top executives, many of whom had previously worked for Infosys and Wipro.

Top executives have left Infosys on multiple occasions in recent months. In addition to Kumar joining Cognizant, Mohit Joshi became the CEO of TechMahindra, and earlier this month, former senior vice president Binny Mathews joined Accenture. Along with other executives in high leadership positions, Infosys has lost a number of its executives.